


Nobody Said It Was Easy

by liberallesbian37



Series: Project Team Beta's 2013 Writing Challenge [21]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 09:32:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/835407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liberallesbian37/pseuds/liberallesbian37
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Waitress Marlene sees the same couple at her corner diner ever Wednesday. Until one day, she doesn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nobody Said It Was Easy

**Author's Note:**

> Challenge Number/Title: 21/Wednesday Traditions  
> Date Posted: 6/8/13  
> Fandom: Original Fiction  
> Rating: T  
> Genre: General/Friendship  
> Content Descriptors: Hints of abuse  
> Character Pairing: N/A

                It was a Wednesday in 1990 when I met them. They walked into my little corner diner at six o’clock on the dot: the dinner rush. It had been raining outside and they were both soaking wet. I took pity on them and went over to their table first.

                “Can I get you some coffee or tea?” I asked. “Something to warm ya’ll up?”

                “Coffee, please,” the man said. He was a handsome young man, couldn’t have been more than twenty.

                “What a horrible way to start our honeymoon,” the woman moaned, tugging anxiously on her dark, wet hair. The man reached across the table and patted her on the hand.

                “Now Elizabeth, this might not be ideal weather, but it could be worse,” he tried to reassure her.

                “I told you I didn’t want to come to Alabama for our honeymoon! What’s there to do here anyway? The town has a thousand people! My apartment building back home has twice that!”

                I tried to discreetly walk away. I didn’t want to intrude, but I also hadn’t taken their order. I could have brought both of them coffee, but suppose she didn’t want any?

                “Oh, I’m sorry you’ve got to hear us argue. And I don’t mean to insult your town. It’s lovely, it’s just…” she trailed off.

                “Not what you expected on your honeymoon,” I finished. “I understand. Let me get that coffee for ya’ll, and I’ll be back to take your order. Coffee’s on the house.”

***

                I was surprised when, the next Wednesday, right at six o’clock, they showed up again. The woman was smiling brightly.

                “Seat yourself,” I called over to them while trying to juggle three trays of food. It was nearly fifteen minutes before I was able to get to their table.

                “I’m so sorry for the wait,” I apologized, straightening my apron.

                “Guess what!” she exclaimed. “Johnny and I are moving here!”

                “Here?” I asked. She nodded.

                “We just loved it so much here! At first we were just going to extend our honeymoon, but then I said we should move here! I’m tired of Atlanta.”

                I nodded slowly, trying to figure out the appropriate reaction. Last week she hated it here and now she was moving? The man was silent, giving me no clues into how he felt about the move.

                “Well… That’s great! I’m happy for you. I’m sure you’ll love it around here.”

***

                A week later, they showed up again, but didn’t sit in my section. Neither was smiling, but they took their usual booth and studied their menus.

                Some people say that being a doctor is the hardest job in the world. Others say that it’s being a lawyer. If someone had asked me, I would have set them straight. Being a waitress is the hardest. A waitress isn’t just expected to carry food from the kitchen to the table. A waitress is expected to smile when a customer is an ass. A waitress is expected to offer words of wisdom to people who are lost. A waitress is basically expected to be a therapist when need be. So, when Johnny got up during dinner, I headed over to talk to Elizabeth, even though she wasn’t in my section.

                “Hello, Elizabeth. Jenny treating you well?” I asked, referring to the waitress taking care of them. Evidently she misheard me.

                “No! Marlene, I don’t understand it! I’m trying to be a good wife! I thought he wanted this,” she sniffled.           

                “Wanted what?” I asked.

                “I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

                Johnny came back before I could respond, and I quickly scuttled away.

                “Where’s our waitress? I’m starving. She better get over here if she wants a tip!”

***

                It was nearly two months before I managed to talk to her again. I saw them every week, on Wednesday, at six o’clock, but I was always busy. I made sure to peek over at them, though. Elizabeth’s eyes were becoming hollow and she appeared to be losing weight, not gaining it. And every week, Johnny got angrier. I heard stories from the other waitresses. The tips were getting smaller, the leers more obvious, and the complaints louder. Gone were the days of coffee with their dinner: she ordered tea and he drank at least three beers.

                I managed to stop by their table after Johnny stormed out of the diner.

                “Hi, Marlene,” she drawled, her Atlanta accent more prominent than usual.

                “Hi, Elizabeth. How are you doing?” I asked softly. She shrugged.

                “I’m all right. Johnny’s mad because I told him the smoke ain’t good for the baby. But I’m right, ain’t I?”

                I nodded and she continued.

                “Can I tell you a secret, Marlene? One that you can’t tell anyone?” I nodded again and she went on.

                “I ain’t really from Atlanta. I only pretended I was. I’m from a town smaller than this. I only moved to Atlanta a month before I met Johnny. I wanted him to think I was smart. All I really got is a family that don’t even know I’m married and an accent heavier than a brick. I don’t sound smart and I don’t look smart. Do I?”

                “You look and sound smart. But that’s not the important part, Elizabeth. The important part is that you ARE smart,” I said.

                She gave me a watery smile.

                “You better go before Johnny gets back.”

                ***

                Their routine continued for several more months. Sometimes they were in my section, and sometimes I traded the other waitresses, both the see them and to get away from them. A couple times she showed up with thinly veiled bruises on her face or arms, and didn’t say a single word the entire time they ate. Still, they came every week. Until one week, when she showed up alone…

_“Marlene?”_

_“Seat yourself,” I shout from behind the counter. It is Wednesday, but it’s only four._

_“Elizabeth,” I say, turning around. I never would have expected to see her here right now. Her belly has expanded, finally._

_“I left Johnny. Well, he doesn’t know it yet, but I am leaving him. I’m going home. I called Mama and told her everything. I’m gonna go home and get a GED and raise my baby. It’s a girl.”_

_I stare at her in shock._

_“I’m gonna miss you, Marlene,” she cries, tears falling, and pulls me into a hug._

_“I-I’m gonna miss you too, Elizabeth.” I’m shocked to realize I mean it._

_“Thank you, Marlene. I couldn’t have done this without you. Bye-bye.”_

***

                I never saw Elizabeth again. A couple months after she left, I got a letter in the mail announcing the birth of Marlene Waters, but there wasn’t a return address. The only thing in the letter besides the birth announcement was a little piece of paper with Elizabeth’s messy scrawl. Thirty years later, I still carry that little paper.

_Thank you._

**Author's Note:**

> (C) 2013 Megan V------


End file.
